better to have two so one could watch while the other slept… but he didn’t want to put her in harm’s way. On the other hand, they would be waiting in ambush and the thieves won’t know they are there. On the third hand, so to speak, this may all be an exercise in futility and nothing would happen.
“Okay. But you take first watch… and if you hear anything… anything… you wake me up, okay?”
“Deal. Where are we going to sleep?”
“In the car.”
“Not very comfortable.”
“I never said it would be. You sure you don’t want me to drop you off at the motel?”
“No. We’ll just have to figure out some way to work out the kinks later.”
Jack snickered. “None of that. We have to be alert.”
***
“Jack!” Tina whispered through the open window of the car. “A truck just pulled up outside.”
Jack was instantly awake. It was a few minutes after one in the morning. “You were supposed to wake me at one,” he whispered as he quietly got out of the car.
“I was just going to when I heard the truck pull up. I listened a moment to see where they went. I think they stopped right outside, but I didn’t look. I was afraid they would see me.”
“That’s my girl. Okay, get in the car and keep your head down. No matter what happens, you stay in the car. When they get inside, hit the headlights, but if the shit really hits the fan, you start the car and haul ass out of here. Got it?”
“I can’t leave—”
“If the shit gets that deep, you won’t be leaving me. I will already be dead. You promised me, Tina.”
She fumed for a moment. “Okay,” she agreed. Now, whether or not I actually do it or not is another matter .
When the big roll-up door rattled, she squeaked, got into the car, and quietly shut the door before scooting down low in seat. It was dark in the warehouse and with Jack crouched by the passenger door, when the headlamps came on, the bad guys were going to be blinded and an easy target.
The door rattled again and then there was the shriek and groan of straining metal. The intruders worked at the door for several minutes as it resisted their attempts to break in. Finally, there was another shriek, followed by a loud bang that made her jump.
Everything was quiet for a moment and Tina began to think they had given up and gone away when the door at last rumbled up. She could see four shadowy figures enter inside, silhouetted against the brightness of the greater Los Angeles metropolis.
“Now,” Jack whispered, and Tina flipped on the headlamps. “First one to move, dies!” Jack declared as he stood, his Beretta M9 pistol pointed at the figures as they blinked into the glare.
“Don’t shoot, Jack!” called the man—the buyer’s agent that had been by earlier in the day—as all their hands went up.
“Who sent you?”
“I don’t know, man! Some guy! He said there were some cars in here. He sent us a picture of the two he wanted. When we got them, we were supposed to call him. That’s all we know!”
“Was it Goremykin?”
“I don’t know no Goremykin. That’s just the name he gave me. Maybe.”
“Did he sound Russian?”
“Kind of. Maybe. I don’t know what a Russian sounds like except in the movies! He sounded kind of like that.”
“What’s the number are you supposed to call him?”
“It’s on my phone.”
“Take it out… slowly. If you come out with anything other than your cell, all of you die—starting with you.”
The man reached very slowly into his pocket and carefully retrieved his phone before he held it up for Jack to see.
“Give me the number. Tina, write it down.” Albuquerque area code? What the fuck? he thought as the man read off the number.
“All of you. Take out your cells, put them on the floor, then step away and lay face down on the floor. Do it!” Jack barked when no one seemed
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